High-tech machines have made life easier for millions around the world．However, some people still prefer low-tech ways of doing things．Here’s an example of why this is happening．You can microwave a frozen hamburger in 60 seconds．However, it won’t taste as good as one you cook on the stove．And if you’re in that much of a hurry, you probably won’t take time to toast the bun．High-tech cooking saves time, but it doesn’t make for better-tasting meals．
Most people get their news from high-tech sources like television or the Internet．This has many advantages．For example, electronic news is more up to date than newspapers or magazines．It’s also more exciting to see live and videotaped news events than photographs．However, newspapers and magazines have some important advantages．They give more background and details．They also let you read the parts that are important to you and skip the rest．
Other high-tech timesavers have similar disadvantages．For example, most people use the phone or e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family members who live in other places．But when you use the Internet or the phone, you won’t always think carefully about what you are saying, and sometimes you forget the important things you want to communicate．Similarly, when you word-process a homework assignment instead of handwriting it, you can check your spelling electronically and put in fancy headings．However, some students are so busy with the computer that they don’t pay enough attention to the actual words they are writing．
小題1:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage ?

A．The writer likes high-tech cooking

B．Low-tech cooking produces better-tasting meals．

C．High-tech news programs always keeps you reading what is important to you．

D．Handwritten homework is better than word-processed homework．

小題2:How does the writer feel about high-tech tools?

A．Better late than never．	B．Easy come, easy go．
C．Every coin has two sides．	D．Learn to walk before you run．

小題3:What is the main subject discussed in the text?

A．High-tech vs low-tech．

B．Advantages vs disadvantages．

C．Newspapers and magazines vs television and the Internet．

D．Word-processing vs handwriting．

小題4:How is the text organized?

A．Main idea-Argument-Explanation

B．Opinion-Discussion-Description

C．Topic-Comparison-Supporting examples．

D．Introduction-Supporting examples-Discussion．

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise—and as a result, we are aging unnecessarily soon.
Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of aging could be slowed down.
With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations.
Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect (智能) and emotion, and determine the human character. (The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contract with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties.)
Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty- and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with age—using the head.  The findings show in general terms that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. Those least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine work in government offices are, however, as likely to have shrinking brains as the farm worker, bus driver and shop assistant.    Matsuzawa’s findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. “The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain,” he says, “Think hard and engage in conversation. Don’t rely on pocket calculators.”
小題1:The team of doctors wanted to find out ________.
why certain people age sooner than others  
B. how to make people live longer
C. the size of certain people’s brains       
D. which people are most intelligent
小題2:On what are their research findings based?
A survey of farmers in northern Japan.       
B. Tests performed on a thousand old people.
C. The study of brain volumes of different people 
D. The latest development of computer technology.
小題3:The word “subjects” in Paragraph 5 means ________.
something to be considered                 
B. branches of knowledge studied
C. persons chosen to be studied in an experiment  
D. any member of a state except the supreme ruler.
小題4:According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than the others?

A．Lawyers.	B．Farmers.
C．Clerks.	D．Shop assistants.

Starting high school means many changes in your life．Most teenagers look forward to the first day of high school，but still feel a little bit nervous．In order to make your high school life easier, you can follow these tips．
Learn all you can about your first day before the first day．Take part in some activities that are held at the school for new students to know the school better．If parents are invited to these activities, take yours with you．Carefully look over all the materials you receive．Be sure you know where the school’s buildings are．
Get the things you will need for class．Buy the things suggested on your teachers’ supply lists and place your materials for each class separately．
Keep up with your high school workload(工作量)．If you fmd you’re not doing well in a subject，make use of after-school study groups or ask your teacher to help you with your schoolwork．Consider private tutoring to get you through a difficult time．
There’re more extracurricular(課外的)activities in high school than in middle school，such as clubs，music and theater groups，student government，and sports teams． Make friends and be seen at such school activities．Join a club or other organizations to meet people and develop friendships．Ask someone in school activities if you don’t know how．This is a good time to do what you like doing and an opportunity to try new things．Whe said school has to be aH work and no play?
Since you’ll attend more activities in high school than in middle school，you’ll have to learn how to manage your time．
小題1: The writer wrote this passage to        .

A．a(chǎn)dvise us to study hard in high school

B．tell us how to live an easier life in high school

C．show that we may live a hard life in high school

D．explain why there will be many changes in high school

小題2: In Paragraph 2，the writer suggests that we should      ．

A．a(chǎn)sk our parents to walk us to school

B．a(chǎn)sk other students about our high school

C．prepare all the things we need for our classes

D．1earn about our high school well before attending it

小題3: According to Paragraph 4，what should we do if we are not doing well in a subject?

A．We should get help from others．

B．We should stop going to activities．

C．We should spend most of our time on it．

D．We should give it up if it is not important．

小題4: In Paragraph 5．the writer wants to tell us that   ．

A．every coin has two sides

B．the early bird catches the worm

C．where there is a will, there is a way

D．a(chǎn)ll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

小題5: What will the Writer most probably talk about next?

A．How to manage time well in high school．

B．Why we need to learn how to manage time．

C．How to attend more activities in high school．

D．Why middle school is difierent from high school．

Exam anxiety is something that almost every person experiences during his or her student life. Little anxiety actually helps one      and work hard for the exams. However, if students spend all their time in feeling     , a lot of valuable study time would be lost.
In this competitive world,      cause a lot of nervousness in students. For some, exam anxiety encourages them to work hard, while for others it may be the root cause for poor performance, leading to academic      and lack of confidence. In fact, some students are anxious by nature and easily get nervous when they face a(n)     situation. They will think      even if they have prepared well. They fear that they may        what they have studied, and when it is too much, their      is likely to come true.
One of the most important methods of      exam anxiety is to prepare well in advance. Studying regularly for a few hours every day helps increase the      of students. If students are not able to handle anxiety or nervousness, they could talk to their teachers, parents, friends or instructors.      should also avoid giving pressure to their kids to do well. Creating a peaceful and      atmosphere at home can be greatly helpful.
To      and sleep properly is also important. Students tend to avoid sleep and starve themselves due to anxiety, but it is      to their academic performance and health. It’s better that students should plan their time well and take proper breaks between studies. They should always remember to set aside some time for their      since some entertainment helps them relax and concentrate.

小題1:	A．concentrate B．relax C．succeed D．experience

小題2:	A．curious B．confident C．a(chǎn)nxious D．calm

小題3:	A．plans B．breaks C．jobs D．exams

小題4:	A．failure B．a(chǎn)chievement C．preparation D．performance

小題5:	A．peaceful B．stressful C．natural D．a(chǎn)voidable

小題6:	A．positively B．confidently C．intentionally D．negatively

小題7:	A．remember B．forget C．confuse D．lose

小題8:	A．fear B．dream C．expectation D．competition

小題9:	A．increasing B．feeling C．a(chǎn)voiding D．creating

小題10:

A．relaxation B．pressure C．nervousness D．confidence

小題11:

A．Teachers B．Parents C．Friends D．Instructors

小題12:

A．relaxing B．exciting C．depressing D．worrying

小題13:

A．learn B．play C．rest D．eat

小題14:

A．helpful B．harmful C．important D．nice

小題15:

A．studies B．habits C．hobbies D．meals

Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important, of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging has increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household's waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for burying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue, encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But it is also applied to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realize just how much unnecessary materials are collected. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.
小題1:What does the underlined phrase "over-consumption" refer to?

A．Using too much packaging.

B．Recycling too many wastes.

C．Having more material than is needed.

D．Making more products than necessary.

小題2:The author uses figures in Paragraph 2 to show_______.

A．the tendency of cutting household waste

B．the increase of packaging recycling

C．the fact of packaging overuse

D．the rapid growth of supermarkets

小題3:According to the text, recycling_________.

A．means burning packaging for energy

B．helps control the greenhouse effect

C．is the solution to gas shortage

D．leads to a waste of land

小題4:What can be inferred from Paragraph 4?

A．Unpackaged products are of bad quality.

B．Supermarkets care more about packaging.

C．Other products are better packaged than food.

D．It is improper to judge quality by packaging.

小題5:What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．Needless material is mostly recycled.

B．Fighting wastefulness is difficult.

C．People like collecting recyclable wastes.

D．The author is proud of their consumer culture.

A popular student in her small high school, Katie started college, expecting to do well in her courses and be best friends with her roommates. But things didn’t turn out that way. Psych 101, the course she thought would be a first-semester favorite, turned out to be a struggle.
Living away from home tends to be the toughest adjustment for first-year students. You may feel homesick in your first weeks or months. It can help to call, write, or email your parents and friends, making them know how you’re going. You can also talk with your roommates. As first-year students themselves, they’re probably experiencing many of the same fears and worries that you’re dealing with .
But what if you don’t get along well with your roommates?
In some cases, it can be a good thing if you and your roommates aren’t much alike. Different views on things may be helpful, so respect your differences no matter what.
If you and your roommates don’t get along well, it can help to find someone who you feel does understand you, which should be easy on a campus with so many people. Many schools have student organization nights where all of the campus clubs gather and promote their organizations, so you can meet people with the same interests there as you. You’ll also meet tons of people in class or in your dorm building.
As homesickness, painful throats, sprained (扭傷的) ankles and wisdom teeth that act up are common among college students, you should check out your student guidebook or your school’s website to find out information about the university health center.
If you think you cannot deal with your problems, make a stop at the school counseling (咨詢)center. First-year troubles are something the counselors know well. You can get help there.
小題1:From Paragraph 1 we can infer that __________.

A．Katie had been worried about the changes before starting her college life.

B．Katie felt satisfied when her college life started.

C．Katie wasn’t used to the new environment in college at first.

D．Katie has fallen behind in her study after the first semester in college.

小題2:What’s the author’s first suggestion on dealing with homesickness?

A．Adjust to it gradually.

B．Never share fears with your parents.

C．Talk to your roommates about it.

D．Get along with your roommates.

小題3:Which of the following ways of dealing with roommates is RIGHT?

A．Not trying to change them.

B．Avoid making friends with them.

C．Developing the same interest as them.

D．Not talking with them.

小題4:From the passage, we can know that_________

A．It’s easy for the first-year students to adapt to the college life.

B．First-year students can get along well with roommates quickly.

C．The university center can only help the first-year students solve problems.

D．The school counseling center is familiar with the problems the first-year students face.

小題5:What’s the main idea of the text?

A．Freshmen may meet many problems.

B．Communication is important in college.

C．How you can adjust to your first year in college.

D．How schools help freshmen to get used to college life.

Think about the different ways that people use wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources, as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills (風(fēng)車) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.
For many centuries, people used windmills to grind (磨碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote (偏僻的) areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the 1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.
During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means high costs. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.
小題1:From the text we know that windmills _______.

A．were invented by Europeans armies

B．have a history of more than 2800 years

C．used to supply power to electric lights in remote areas

D．have rarely been used since electricity was discovered

小題2: What was a new use for wind power in the late 19^th century ?

A．Sailing a boat.	B．Producing electricity.
C．Grinding wheat into flour.	D．Pumping water from underground.

小題3:One of the reasons why wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that ______ .

A．wind power is cleaner

B．it is one of the oldest power sources

C．it was cheaper to create energy from wind

D．the supply of coal and gas failed to meet ends

小題4:What would the writer probably discuss in the paragraph that follows ?

A．The advantages of wind power.

B．The design of wind power plants.

C．The worldwide movement to save energy.

D．The global trend (趨勢(shì)) towards producing power from wind.

“I’ve never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from his lab at Texas A&M University. “It’s a stupid endeavor.”
That’s an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two cows and a cat.
They just might succeed in cloning Missy soon — or perhaps not for another five years.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate（代孕的）mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted(流產(chǎn)，發(fā)育不全) fetuses（胎）may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1996, Westhusin's phone has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. “A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right,” says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.
Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype（原型；雛形）is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and super-smart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. He knows her clone may not have her temperament（氣質(zhì)、性情）. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clones differ from Missy.”
Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.
However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems~ “Why would you ever want to clone humans,” Westhusin asks, “when we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?”
小題1:By “stupid endeavor”, Westhusin means to say that ________.

A．human cloning is a foolish undertaking

B．a(chǎn)nimal cloning is absolutely impractical

C．human cloning should be done selectively

D．a(chǎn)nimal cloning is not worth the effort at all

小題2:What does the second paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?

A．Its success is already in sight.

B．It is progressing smoothly.

C．It is doomed to utter failure.

D．Its outcome remains uncertain.

小題3:By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.

A．study the possibility of cloning humans

B．search for ways to modify its temperament

C．find out the differences between Missy and its clones

D．examine the reproductive system of the dog species

小題4:We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.

A．a(chǎn) bad temper

B．defective（有缺陷的、有毛病的）organs

C．immune deficiency

D．a(chǎn)n abnormal shape

小題5:What’s the best title of the passage?

A．Cloning of Missy

B．Scientist Says ‘No’ to Human Cloning

C．Human Cloning Is Dangerous .

D．Westhusin Is Cautious about Cloning

A press report stating that Microsoft has restarted talks to buy Yahoo's search business for 20 billion U. S. dollars. "It has no basis in fact," the San Francisco Chronicle said on Monday.
The Times of London reported on Sunday that the deal under discussion would put former AOL CEO Jonathan Miller and Ross Levinsohn, a former president of Fox Interactive Media, in charge of Yahoo. The report also said executives (管理人員) at both companies had agreed to the broad terms of a deal.
In fact, there are no current talks between the two companies. The Chronicle quoted an executive at one of the firms who requested his name to be kept secret as saying. Furthermore, the 20-billion-dollar price mentioned in the Times of London article for Yahoo's search business appears questionable given that the market capitalization (資本總額) for all of Yahoo is 16 billion dollars, said The Chronicle.
Yahoo and Microsoft had had on-again, off-again talks over several months earlier this year about a 47. 5-billion-dollar takeover, and later a proposal focused only on Yahoo's search business. Discussions regarding both plans collapsed without an agreement.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said repeatedly that he is no longer interested in buying all of Yahoo, but that he is open to some sort of partnership involving their respective search businesses.
Brad Williams, a Yahoo spokesman, said Sunday "We don't comment on rumors." Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to comment.
Yahoo's shares have plummeted since Microsoft withdrew its 33-dollar-a-share acquisition offer earlier this year, leaving people to think that discussions would eventually be restarted. Yahoo's shares closed Friday at 11. 51 dollars, nearly one-third of the original offer.
小題1:
1. From this passage, we can know that ______.

A．Microsoft has given up buying all of Yahoo but its search business

B．Microsoft has already taken over the whole company of Yahoo

C．the market capitalization for all of Yahoo is over $ 20 billion

D．the market capitalization for all of Microsoft is only $ 6 billion

小題2:
2. What is the author trying to convince readers of in the third paragraph?

A．Yahoo and Microsoft are talking about takeover.

B．Microsoft is buying Yahoo’s search businesses for $ 20 billion.

C．Yahoo would like to sell its search businesses to another company.

D．There are no current talks between Yahoo and Microsoft.

小題3:
3. What does the underlined word “plummet” in the passage most probably mean?

A．develop rapidly

B．increase quickly

C．fall quickly

D．keep balanced

小題4:
4. You can find this passage most probably in ______ .

A．a(chǎn)n entertainment website	B．a(chǎn)n economical newspaper
C．a(chǎn) sports magazine	D．a(chǎn) biological dictionary

NEW YORK- One in five U.S．workers regularly attends after-work drinks with coworkers, where the most common mishaps range from badmouthing another worker to drinking too much, according to a study released on Tuesday．
Most workers attend so-called happy hours to bond with colleagues, although 15 percent go to hear the latest office gossip and 13 percent go because they feel necessary, said the survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com, an online job site．As to what happens when the after-work drinks flow, 16 percent reported bad-mouthing a colleague, 10 percent shared a secret about a colleague and 8 percent said they drank too much and acted unprofessionally．Five percent said they had shared a secret about the company, and 4 percent confessed to singing karaoke．While 21 percent of those who attended said happy hours were good for networking, 85 percent said attending had not helped them get closer to someone higher up or get a better position．An equal number of men and women said they attended happy hours with co-workers, with younger workers aged 25 to 34 most likely and workers over 55 least likely to attend．Overall, 21 percent of workers attend happy hours with co-workers and; of those nearly a quarter go at least once a month.
The survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,987 full-time employees between February 11 and March 13．Harris Interactive said the results had a sampling error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
56．Harris Interactive made the survey to find out ________.
A．how U.S．workers spend their after-work time
B．what U.S．workers do at after-work drinks 
C．the relationships between U.S．workers
D．who are most likely to attend after-work drinks
57．________ of workers who attend after-work drinks speak ill of a colleague.
A．4 percent  B．8 percent  C．16 percent       D．10 percent    
58．According to the passage, most of those surveyed believed attending after-work drinks ________．
A．benefited them a lot B．could provide information
C．only made them relaxed  D．was of no help to them
59．We can learn from the text that _________.
A．workers over 55 don’t like to attend happy hours at all
B．a(chǎn)bout 75% of workers go more than once a month
C．10.5% of male workers attend happy hours with co-workers
D．a(chǎn)bout 700 workers surveyed shared a secret about a co-worker
60．After the survey, it can be inferred that_________.
A．a(chǎn)ll the workers oppose after-work drinks
B．the workers may change their attitudes towards after-work drinks
C．a(chǎn)ll the workers support after-work drinks
D．a(chǎn)ll the workers are suggested going to attend after-work drinks